#red crabs
Researchers Capture Rare Footage of Thousands of Red Crabs Swarming Close to the Sea Floor
A research team studying biodiversity at the Hannibal Bank Seamount off the coast of Panama has captured unique video of thousands of red crabs swarming in low-oxygen waters just above the seafloor.
The researchers describe their findings in a paper published April 12, 2016, in the journal PeerJ.
No one had ever observed this species so far south, and to find a species at the extreme of their range and to be so abundant is very unusual.
These crabs migrate up and down the water column and are favored prey for yellowfin tuna. They are also an important food source for a variety of other fish, birds, and marine mammals.
